Professional Education News

National Jewish Health Announces Research Award Winners at the 2022 Respiratory Disease Young Investigators' Forum

National Jewish Health welcomed scientists from across the country to the 18th Annual Respiratory Disease Young Investigators’ Forum held in Denver, Colorado on October 6-9, 2022. Junior faculty and physicians enrolled in a pediatric, pulmonary, allergy, or immunology fellowship program and conducting research on airway diseases were eligible for participation. Selected from expert faculty review of abstracts submitted earlier this year, 29 young investigators attended.

Throughout the forum, participants presented abstracts in Basic Science Research or Clinical Research to a panel of expert faculty who score presentations based on Scientific Importance, Quality of Research, Response to Questions and Overall Presentation. In addition to their presentations, the forum provided an excellent opportunity for networking with faculty experts and peers conducting research in respiratory medicine.

"I was honored to co-chair the 2022 Young Investigators Forum. It was inspiring interacting with such talented next generation physician scientists and seeing the fantastic science they are doing The future is bright." - Wanda Phipatanakul, MD (Program Co-Chair)

Awards in Basic Science Research

First Place – Andi Hudler, MD, University of Colorado
Succinate Induces HIF-1α and Pro-IL-1ß Expression in Airway Epithelial Cells
Second Place – Kaveh Mogbeli, MD, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Machine Learning Accurately Classifies the Airway Transcriptome of Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction and Identifies Phospholipase A2 as a Potential Biomarker and Therapeutic Target
Third Place – Zachary Johnson, DO, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
Early-Life Hyperoxia is Protective Against Influenza Infection by Inhibition of MCP-1-Mediated Injurious Inflammatory Insult

Awards in Clinical Research

First Place – Catherine Gao, MD, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
CarpeDiem: Machine Learning Identifies Distinct Clinical States and Trajectories in Patients with Severe Pneumonia Requiring Mechanical Ventilation
Second Place – Bowa Lee, MD, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Elevated Exhaled Nitric Oxide with Low Airway Epithelial Catalase Expression Predicts a Poorly Controlled Asthma Phenotype
Third Place – Gabrielle Liu, MD, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
Imaging Marker of Localized Lung Inflammation is Associated With Future Interstitial Changes and Restrictive Spirometry

"This was an incredible experience, and every part of the forum was well thought-out. It was great to meet colleagues from across the country in a similar position, career-wise, with whom I otherwise would not have had the opportunity to connect with. We had so much close time with senior faculty as well, who were able to give us thoughtful advice backed by years of experience. I was truly awed to see all the work the young investigators presented, and look forward to future collaborations with new friends!" - Catherine Gao, MD (1st place winner in Clinical Research)

Committed to growing young scientists to become leaders in the research and treatment of respiratory diseases, National Jewish Health was excited to host the forum that was managed by the Office of Professional Education. The activity was supported by an educational grant from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP.

Program Chairs

Wanda Phipatanakul, MD, MS
Westonian Endowed Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Director, Research Center, Asthma, Allergy, Dermatology, Rheumatology, Immunology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA

Jennifer Taylor-Cousar, MD, MSCS, ATSF
President-elect, Medical Staff, Medical Director, Clinical Research Services, Interim Associate Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Co-Director and CF TDC Director, Adult Cystic Fibrosis Program, Professor, Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics, Divisions of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine and Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine, Divisions of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine and Pediatric Pulmonology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO

Expert Faculty and Research Advisors

Jessica Bon, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Director, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA

Laura Crotty Alexander, MD
Section Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Veterans Affairs San Diego, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA

Anthony Gerber, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine, Professor of Immunology and Genomic Medicine, Director of Pulmonary Research, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado, Chair, Colorado Air Quality Control Commission

Ravi Kalhan, MD, MS
Professor of Medicine and Preventive Medicine, Director, Asthma and COPD Program, Associate Chief – Clinical & Translational Research, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Co-Director, Center for Education and Career Development, Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences (NUCATS) Institute, Chicago, IL

Ravi Kalhan, MD, MS
Professor of Medicine and Preventive Medicine, Director, Asthma and COPD Program, Associate Chief – Clinical & Translational Research, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Co-Director, Center for Education and Career Development, Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences (NUCATS) Institute, Chicago, IL

Lisa Maier, MD, MSPH, FCCP
Professor, Director of Environmental & Occupational Health Science Core Clinical Lab, Chief, Division of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO

Susanna A. McColley, MD
Scientific Director, Interdisciplinary Research Partnerships, Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Associate Director for Child Health and Director, TL1 Program, Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, Editor-in-Chief, Pediatric Pulmonology, Attending Physician, Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL

Charles Powell, MD, MBA
CEO Mount Sinai-National Jewish Health Respiratory Institute, System Chief, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Janice and Coleman Rabin Professor of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY

Jesse Roman, MD
Ludwig Kind Professor of Medicine, CEO, Jane & Leonard Korman Respiratory Institute, Director, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy & CCM, Lead, Respiratory Service Line, Jefferson Health, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA

Sally Wenzel-Morganroth, MD
Professor of Medicine and Immunology, Chair, Dept of Environmental and Occupational Health, Director, University of Pittsburgh Asthma and Environmental Lung Health Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA

Presenting Faculty

Eric Abston, MD Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA	Bowa Lee, MD University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Pittsburgh, PA
Nikita Agrawal, MD Mount Sinai Hospital New York, NY	Gabrielle Lui, MD Northwestern University Chicago, IL
Joseph Bailey, MD Northwestern University Chicago, IL	David MacDonald, MD, MS University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN
Daniel Colon Hidalgo, MD, MPH University of Colorado Aurora, CO	Kaveh Moghbeli, MD University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Pittsburgh, PA
Daniel Cook, MD, PhD Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN	Sarah Moore, MD Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, NY
Francesca Duncan, MD, MS Indiana University School of Medicine Indiana, IN	Marika Orlov, MD, PhD University of Colorado Aurora, CO
Catherine Gao, MD Northwestern University Chicago, IL	Mitchell Pitlick, MD Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN
Mohammad Ghanbar, MD Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore, MD	Clare Prohaska, MD Indiana University Indianapolis, IN
Andi Hudler, MD University of Colorado Denver Denver, CO	Anna Qiu, MD Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Baltimore, MD
Kunal Jakharia, MD University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Durham, NC	Camille Robichaux, MD University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN
Aiham Jbeli, MD University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN	Daniel Sullivan, MD University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Pittsburgh, PA
Zachary Johnson, DO Northwestern University Chicago, IL	Vickram Tejwani, MD Cleveland Clinic Cleveland, OH
Nicholas Juul, MD Stanford University Stanford, CA	Ann-Marcia Tukpah, MD, MPH Brigham and Womens’ Hospital Boston, MA
Jamuna Krishnan, MD Weill Cornell Medicine New York, NY	Jonathan Witonsky, MD, MAS University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, CA
Sophia Kwon, DO, MPH New York University SOM New York, NY